A Unique, Stunning and Beautiful celebration at Utopia. Shanna & Steve’s Yorkshire wedding was like no other.
Utopia Broughton Hall Wedding Photography
Wow. What a wedding right??
Venue, incredible. Weather, perfect. Couple, two incredible people, I now call brilliant friends. I hit lucky booking this wedding!
Shanna & Steve tied the knot on my busiest bank holiday weekend to date, at the unique Skipton venue, Utopia at Broughton Hall. A minimalist building made of mostly windows, it’s a photographer’s dream to shoot in. I love the linear lines, the bright light, the open space, all situated in the dreamiest of classic Yorkshire backdrops. You arrive and there’s a load of rabbits out on the lawn hanging around, then countless sheep over in the fields overlooking the moors. ‘Utopia’ I thought was a cheesy name for a venue till I got there, on a beautiful day like this, it truly did feel like perfection.
Shanna and Steve met working on weddings themselves at Rudding Park, and with their wealthy wedding experience combined, we knew their’s was one to remember. From the moment I started shooting, I was on my toes all day non stop. The girls got ready in this lovely BnB in Skipton, and the boys at Niffany Farm across the road. With the two of them bringing each other to tears separately with some emotionally written cards, it was lovely to capture both their reactions before the wedding began.
It was a wonderful outdoor ceremony, incredibly peaceful and calm. The walk the bride takes to the aisle from the bottom of the lawn to the building to meet her groom is quite magical. Followed by a ceremony, with more tears as Steve’s brother and his fiancé struggled to get through their reading as the emotions reached their peak.
I feel like I’m photographically linked into Steve’s mind somehow. I just sense when he’s about to strike, make a solid moment, do something spontaneous, start laughing uncontrollably. So much so, as he was handed the wedding certificate at the end of the ceremony, something at the back of my mind clicked that he’d thrust his arm up in the air in celebration. So I framed it up ready to go, and he did it! Usually I’m never right with these things, but I was this time, and throughout the day continued to be right with Steve. He was my perfect groom!
S+S had a lengthy drinks reception that worked perfectly. I always say work hard to keep your guests occupied and entertained for a 2 hour+ wedding drinks reception. These guys nailed it with garden games, well times canapés and plenty of great beer (from Harrogate’s own Cold Bath Brewing). Everyone’s favourite of the garden games was certainly Kubb, which was my first time photographing, and it was like the finals of Wimbledon. Everyone really got into it, even in the heat of the sun. Every 5 minutes there’d be a roar of celebration or a gutted cry. Entertaining to say the least!
The smell of the barbecue began to linger around the building as Good Food Story grilled up an enormous amount of meat and Mediterranean vegetables. Before feeding time, it was time for speeches. A lovely speech from Shanna’s Father, who cheekily got in some risky humour about ex-boyfriends in there and succeeded in his delivery. Refreshing limoncello shots led by Steve before he paid an emotional tribute to Shanna. And the Best Man didn’t grill Steve as hot as the barbeque outside, moderated some stories, and had everyone laughing away from their drunken mishaps.
The barbecue was served, but many of the lads were distracted as they’re all massive cricket fans. There were big groups of boys huddled round phones, jumping up and down celebrating as England played in the Ashes. I don’t follow cricket so I had no idea how to time when to start snapping, but luckily I caught the one and only big moment!
The meal was cleared away, and that lovely warm evening sun came down, and so everyone made their way outside into the perfectly warm evening air. Without a cloud in the sky, golden hour was upon us. I grabbed Shanna and Steve and took them up to a field I’d scouted out earlier throughout the day. The sun met the horizon, and that beautiful golden glow shone over the field, and around Shanna and Steve. It was quite a moment, however there was quite a lot of sheep shit in the field these guys had to jump over and dodge. Which I felt pretty guilty about, but looking at the images, the sheep look innocent, there’s no poop to be seen, and S+S look incredible.
Before we knew it it was party time. With two confetti cannons armed and fully loaded, it was a lovely first dance, followed by everyone piling onto the dancefloor. Steve’s Dad was the dark horse of the dance floor certainly as his family’s jaws were on the floor for half the night, in disbelief of his very fancy footwork.
The pizza van started serving up, and the party continued on into the night. I took one last final shot of our couple with the lit up Utopia in the background. A perfect way to round off such a perfect wedding.
Shanna and Steve, I would’ve wished no one else to capture your wedding. It was an incredible day, I already can’t wait to catch up with you both in Harrogate soon! Thanks for the bottle of vino, I’ll be sure to drink it the night before the braces get replaced in 3 weeks, 2 days and 7 hours 45 minutes time (haha!) Thanks once again, hope you love the pics!x
Suppliers
Caterers- Good Food Story
Pizza Van – Wood int’ hole
Florist- Rose Cottage Barn
Band – Astrix/Alive Network
Outdoor Lighting- Typical Type
MUA – Victoria Stonebank
Hair – Stephen Chapman
Utopia Broughton Hall Wedding Photography. Here’s a few snaps from their Rudding Park pre wedding shoot below. You can see loads more on the blog.
Utopia Broughton Hall Wedding Photography by Hamish Irvine Photographer. Hamish Irvine is a documentary, fun and relaxed wedding photographer available for weddings in North Yorkshire, across the UK and for weddings worldwide. See more same sex weddings here. Documentary wedding photography story telling packed with energy, colour and life. See more on the blog, and get in touch.
